The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in its annual City Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Report quantifies the economic contribution of Travel & Tourism in 73 cities around the world.
This year’s edition also highlights successful initiatives, strategies, and policies that have been implemented by cities.
Over half (55%) of the world’s population lives in urban areas.
Cities have become global economic hubs, driving growth and innovation, while attracting more and more people who come to live, do business and discover them.
Not surprisingly, therefore, nearly half of global international travel takes place in cities.
Key highlights include:
- Travel & Tourism in these 73 cities directly accounted for 4.4% of city GDP (US$ 691 billion) and 17 million jobs or 5.7% of total employment in these cities in 2018.
- International visitor spending is more important to cities than it usually is to countries as a whole. International visitors accounted for 45% of tourism spending across the 73 cities in our study, compared to just 29% for economies worldwide.
- Revenues from international visitors will in many cases pay for infrastructure projects, the provision of public workers and services that improve the quality of life for residents.
- Cities that are over-reliant on domestic or international demand are more exposed to economic and geopolitical risks.
- A few cities demonstrate a more balanced split between domestic and international demand, including Cancún, Munich, Cairo, Tokyo, Mecca, San Francisco, and New York.
- Direct Travel & Tourism GDP across 73 cities grew by 3.6% in 2018, above the overall city economy growth of 3.0%.
- Six of the top ten largest cities in terms of the size of the Travel & Tourism sector (as measured by direct Travel & Tourism GDP) are in Asia-Pacific. As of 2018, Shanghai, Paris, and Beijing have the largest Travel & Tourism economies of the cities in the study.
- Achieving sustainable growth for Travel & Tourism in cities requires a focus that extends far beyond the sector itself and one that is integrated into the broader urban agenda.
Read more at https://www.wttc.org/cities
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